The Sushi Hunter wrote:Gunbot wrote:Ehwmatt wrote:Gonna be movie of the year I bet
Anyone happen to catch an early screening? Can't wait for this fucking movie. Great Grandpa Dirty Harry beating up gang punks in gangland while taunting them in a voice that would make Christian Bale's Batman blush. How can you get any better?
Having seen what real Asian gangsters do here in L.A. The movie holds no real appeal for me. Like the CSI shows, I can't suspend disbelief when it comes to non ScienceFiction/Fantasy movies like this. In real life they would have kicked in Clint's door and left his head on the porch of the family he was protecting or some other nasty shit like that.
I love Clint but he can't do these rules with any justice at this time in his life, it just doesn't work.
I saw it with my wife New Year's Eve. We had went up to San Fran with another mixed race couple to see it. I can't say I enjoyed it though cause my wife and my friend's wife are both Asian. I think the point was made no more then ten minutes into the movie that "Walt" didn't like Asians, and it seemed a bit overwhealming that it continued throughout the movie until almost the end that he didn't like Asians. But I really can't say anything cause I'm not a movie producer or director, so this is just my own opinion.
And yeah, Clint going up against a group of young Asian gangbangers was a bit to swallow. But then again as stated, you go to the movies to escape reality.
SH, I wondered during the movie how the Asian community would feel watching this movie. I enjoyed it, but there were uncomfortable parts, and knew if I was Asian it would have been very uncomfortable regarding those parts.
Regarding your point about the racist slurs continuing throughout the movie, even after he befriended the neighbors, almost until the end this is my take on it: Walt was a racist, and he was an old man. He also had many issues. Basically estranged from his own children. It seems the only person he could really love was his deceased wife. The Hmong neighbors he came to like especially the boy and girl, they accepted him as an old racist man but saw the human being behind that and were able to break through his racist views toward them. The beauty of youth. And he came to really care about them. But to expect his racist views to stop upon caring about the young girl and boy and being nice to the neighbors is unrealistic, as he had a lifetime of living and thinking that way. It was ingrained in him. If he all of a sudden changed and never uttered a racial slur about anybody, that would not be believable and would be a Lifetime or Hallmark movie. The ultimate irony is that the neighbors and especially the young boy and girl gave him a little bit of happiness after his wife died and opened his closed heart, and he gave the ultimate sacrifice for the boy and girl, who in his own way he loved.
Two of my Asian friends (one Chinese, one half Filipino) saw it. They said the racist remarks in the movie didn't bother them, b/c he was an old, lonely, unhappy, racist man, a prisoner of himself and enjoyed seeing a lot of Asians in a movie, portrayed as both bad and good people, and especially the boy and girl in lead roles that were positive. But they both told me they would have enjoyed it at home and wished they had waited for it to come out on DVD, and were very uncomfortable sitting in a movie theatre with non Asian people laughing at all the racist slurs and jokes, which I absolutely understand.
)